Reel structure



March zo, 1945. W. J; ELVIN ETQAL 2,371,684

' REEL sTlRUcTURE Filed June 20, 1942 INVENTORS WILLIAM J. ELVIN JOHN .B STE'DING kteristics to be produced.

" Patented Mar. 20, 1945' n EELJSTRUUI'UBE A *Wiiuamr Elvin, Fmtb'urgfana Jhn. sawing,

- tioneof America, incorporation of Delaware n Applipatipnoune'zo, 1942,seria1No.irz'gsei iclaim. (citare-mina j n n throughoutthe several views `'of the drawing. ,Referring now to the drawing, there is shown a reel,` generally indicated by reference numeral' "3, set in a trough 4',` thelatter containing .a suit- This invention relates to the treatment of yarn and relates more particularly to the treatment i of yarns having a basis of cellulose acetateor other organic ester of cellulose.

Yarns of regenerated cellulose of high tenacity i have been prepared by the saponication `of stretched yarns having a basis of an organic ester of cellulose. The yarns are stretchedv during 'some stage of their' manufacture and the stretching may be facilitated by means of solvents, latent able `saponifying liquid lbath indicated by refer-` ence numeral. The reel 3 comprises a plus rality of flexible arms 6 adapted to support thereon a, quantity of yarn 1, which is to betreated,

solvents or swelling agents for the cellulose ester.

During stretching, the yarns may be increased in length to the extent of 200, 300, 500, or even 1000 or 2000% of their original length; The yarns acquire `a `relatively high tenacity on being stretched, which tenacity is retained and in many instances enhanced by saponication and consequent regeneration of the cellulose. The resulting high tenacity yarns findextensive `employmentin applications wherein yarns of an unusual degree of strength are desired. In saponifying the stretched yarns having a basis of an organic ester of cellulose, various methods may be em-l ployed. The saponication `of the yarn `may be carried out in a continuous manner or batch processes may -be employed. While many methods.v vof saponification have produced reasonably isatthe construction and `,arrangement of said arms being such as to yield under yarn shrinkage and Y isfactory high tenacity regenerated cellulose saponiflcation of stretched yarns having a basis of an organic ester of cellulose so as to enable a completely regenerated cellulose yarn-of uni-` formly high tenacity and lof improved charac.-

Another object of our invention is to provide an improved apparatus for effecting saponication f the cellulose ester yarn with a minimum of handling and in a rapid and efiicient'manner.

Other objects of our invention will appear from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing: Fig. 1 is an end view of a device on which yarn may ybe. wound, said devicebeing submerged in a trough adapted to contain a saponifying liquid, and

. Fig. 2 is a side elevation ofsaid device in said trough, taken along the line 2-2 `of Fig. 1.

yarn. The arms 6 are mounted in radially disposed spokes 8 which are integral with a hub 9V which is mounted in xed `positionon a shaft I0 as by a key or other suitable means and is held thereon by anut I I. The shaft Ill is jourf naled in bracket I2 the bottom portion of which is shaped to form a. supporting bearing.` `The entire reel. together with the shaft.l I0 i may be i `freelyr rotated at ony desired speed.

The rotational movement of the reel 3 is obtained through a beveled `gear I3 keyedto the shaft I0 which engages abeveled gear IIIIiXed to a shaft I5. The shaft I5 is mounted `in bearings p i I 6 and Il integral with bracket I2 and maybe rotated by suitable means. This may be done manually,`as by a handle I8, or preferably mechanically, as for example bysuitablegearing, or

by a belt and pulley arrangement, as is well understood inthe art. Thebracket I2 together with" the reel is clamped on trough 4 by a screw I9 threaded through the upper part of said bracket and turned so as to engage the side of said trough. j

'mannen A suitable traverse may be employed in winding the yarn to produce a good uniform spread, substantially as shown in Fig." 1,` or less of a traversemay be utilized so thata more `com` pact structure is obtained` When the yarn is wound as desired, the reel is `immersed in the saponifying bath. The reel is rotated during the course of the saponication and in this way the saponifying liquid is circulated constantlyas saponiflcationof the yarn proceeds. 'Ihe shrink.- age of the yarn duringsaponifcation takes place t 2,371,634 ,l y.

'r3 yield to compensate for the decrease in yarn length upon saponication. As a result, the saponication takes place uniformly and the yarn is not subjected to excessive tension during saponication. When saponication is completed, the saponifying liquid may be discharged through a suitable discharge valve (not shown) and replaced With Wash Water which serves toremove the remaining saponifying liquid. vIf desired, the reel may be unclamped and placed in a separate y said bracket and being of a length which is less y than the depth of the trough in which it is to be washing bath. e l

It is to be understood that the foregoingv ,detailed description is given merely by Way of illustration and that many variations may be made therein without departing from-the spirit of our invention. l f L Y Having described our invention, what we, desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

employed, said bearing member having a U- shaped portion, a, shaft journaled in said U- shaped portion, a beveled gear xed to said shaft within said U-shaped portion, means for rotating said shaft, said means including a shaft carried by said bracket, a beveled gear carried by said second shaft and cooperating with said irstkmentioned gear, and a reel mounted on said firstmentioned shaft, said reel comprising a hub and a plurality of yarn supporting members radially "carried by said hub, said yarn supporting members being iiexible and adapted to yield under an increase in yarn tension during treatment thereof, thus 'reducing the eiective diameter of said A reel structure for use in yarn treating' troughs,`

comprising ya bracket adapted toI be clamped on to said trough, a. bearing member integral with reel andavoiding ,excessive tension on the yarn being treated.

. WILLIAM J. ELVIN. JOHN B. STEIDING. 

